Barbecue teams prepare for competition at first Hub City Hog Fest

Friday

Mar 22, 2013 at 10:04 PM

Smoke drifted through the Grain District as competitors in the Hub City Hog Fest prepared for Saturday's competition

By KIM KIMZEYkim.kimzey@shj.com

Smoke drifted through the Grain District as competitors in the Hub City Hog Fest prepared for Saturday's competition.Stacks of split wood were piled beside cookers and buckets of wood chips soaked as people played cornhole, laughed and socialized. Despite the chill, smiles were warm and people seemed in good spirits.Thirty five teams from the Carolinas are participating in the first major barbecue competition and festival in downtown Spartanburg. The competition will benefit Mobile Meals of Spartanburg.Grey Wicker and his brother, Cal Wicker, along with friends conceptualized and organized the event.“It's going great,” Grey said Friday.“It's like a big tailgate party,” he said.A military tribute will start at noon Saturday, followed by live music into the night. The barbecue awards ceremony is set to begin at 3:45 p.m.This marks the first barbecue competition for friends Ross Sturm and Preston McCall. The Spartanburg natives are competing as Notorious P.I.G. They were able to get the weekend off from II Samuels where they prepare food.They have been friends since they played tee ball and in the kitchen together since ages 13 and 15.Both young men credit their families with instilling a passion for cooking in them – a passion nurtured working for Tony Proctor, owner of Captain Tony's restaurant that once operated in the building now home to Dudley's restaurant.Sturm said they've cooked backyard barbecue about four years. For Saturday's competition they will enter brisket injected with home-brewed beer, cherry wood smoked ribs with a balsamic and pineapple injection and Boston butts smoked in pecan and cherry woods.McCall said with cold temperatures expected Friday night and Saturday morning, they expected to man the smokers in two-hour intervals to ensure the temperatures stay a certain degree.Hub City Hog Fest was a way for them to show support for Spartanburg.Sturm said they're happy to do something to benefit the community and appreciate that the money is going to charity. He expressed gratitude for their families and friends and said they could not have competed without their support.Across the parking lot from Notorious P.I.G. was Razorback BBQ out of Inman.Pit master Elvia Hall said his team has competed for three years. They have already claimed two grand championships and six people's choice awards in state competitions. Some of their awards were displayed near one of the team's cookers.Hall's assistant, Will Caulder, said meeting wonderful people is one reason why they enjoy participating in barbecue competitions.Tom Thomason, who lives near Greenwood, met many people Friday night dressed as Elvis Presley in a pig mask. The Elvis impersonator owns a heating and air business and said he's “always been a backyard hack.”He began barbecuing as a teenager and started competing after years of experimentation.He and his four-member team are Blue Suede Que — a name inspired by “the King.”Thomason learned of the Hub City Hog Fest through a good friend who lives in Spartanburg.Barbecue competitors, he said, say it's about the meat, spices, smoke and time.“Everybody has a secret,” he said.Some think it's “brain surgery,” he said.Competitions allow him to do what he enjoys — laugh, eat and entertain.Food and fun should be bountiful as the festival continues through Saturday. For more information, visit www.hubcityhogfest.com.

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